Royal Musings

News and commentary about the reigning royal houses of the United Kingdom, Sweden, Denmark, Norway, Belgium, Luxembourg, Liechtenstein, the Netherlands, Spain, Monaco -- and the former European monarchies as well.

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Friday, February 16, 2018

I normally do not write about fashion, but I really, really like the Duchess of Cornwall's pink coat .. I really, really like it. It's pink.

The Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall were in Yorkshire today carrying out several engagements. The Duchess paid a visit to Haworth and the Bronte Parsonage Museum in Haworth, West Yorkshire.

This was home of Charlotte, Emily and Anne Bronte -- and 2018 in the 200th anniversary of Emily Bronte's birth. Emily wrote my favorite book of all time, Wuthering Heights and Charlotte is the author of my nearly favorite book of all time, Jane Eyre. https://www.bronte.org.uk
The Royal couple also visited the Piece Hall, in Halifax, a former cloth hall into a cultural and heritage center. They stopped into several shops, including the Yorkshire Soap Co., where the Prince of Wales expressed interest in a Gingerbread man soap.

Take a look at the Yorkshire Soap company's website. So many lovely handmade (in Yorkshire) soaps. There are only 5 shops and all are in Yorkshire.
The company does accept mail orders within the United Kingdom, the Channel Islands, Isle of Man and Europe.

The Dutch newspaper, De Telgraaf, is reporting that the Princess of Orange, the eldest of the three daughters of King Willem-Alexander and Queen Maxima of the Netherlands, will be attending the United World College in Changshu school in Changshu, China.

Princess Amalia, the heiress apparent to the Dutch throne, has been studying Chinese for several years.

King Willem-Alexander attended the Atlantic College in Wales, which was the first United World College, founded in 1962. The then Prince of of Orange attended the school for two years.

Several days ago, the school's website had a Dutch-language announcement that read "the registration for the 2018-2020 school semesters is closed."

This announcement was made to stop the "influx of 'fortune seekers' " who wanted to be in the same class as the future Queen of the Netherlands.

The King and Queen had wanted to find a school in the Hague, but they have agreed to send Amalia to China for the final years of high school.

However, it is now too late for other students to join her.

The RVD has not confirmed the information. But King Willem-Alexander has called the report a "total nonsense story." The King made the comment at the Noordbrabants Museum in Den Bosch, where he opened an exhibit.

The King said he read about the news when he made a stopover in Paris after flying en route home from South Korea, where he and Queen Maxima had been cheering on the Dutch athletes.

He said he was "surprised" by the report in De Telegraaf. He telephoned his eldest daughter to find out what she thought about the report. Amalia apparently laughed "very loudly" in response to his question.

Princess Amalia, 14, is a student at the Christelijk Gymnasium Sorghvliet. The king said his very happy at the school.

One royal correspondent said that "it is very remarkable that the king responds to a rumor."

Thursday, February 15, 2018

February 15 10:00 am -- Prince Henrik's mortal remains will be taken from Fredensborg Palace to Amalienborg.

February 16, 6:00 p.m.: Prince Henrik's coffin will be moved to the Palace Church at Christansborg to be placed in a castrum doloris (this is the structure that accompanies the bier).

February 16 10:15am - Members of the Danish royal family will visit the castrum doloris at the Palace Church.

February 17 3:00 pm - 7:00 pm - Members of the public will be allowed to pay their respects at the Palace Church.

February 18 12:00 - 7:00 pm: Members of the public will be allowed to pay their respects at the Palace Church. 19 February, 1:00 pm: Specially invited guests will pay their respects at the Palace Church.

February 19 3:00 pm - 7:00 pm: Members of the public will be allowed to pay their respects at the Palace Church.

February 20,11:00 am - The funeral of Prince Henrik will take place in the Palace Church, attended by family and close friends. It will not be a state occasion.

This means there will be no foreign royals attending the funeral.

In accordance with His late Royal Highness's wishes, his body will be cremated and his ashes later scattered privately on Danish waters and interred in the gardens at Fredensborg.

Wednesday, February 14, 2018

@Danish royal house. This photo was taken in Egypt shortly before Prince Henrik returned to Denmark

Prince Henrik's funeral will be held on February 20 at 11:00 am at the church at Christianborg Palace in Copenhagen. In accordance with the late prince's wishes, the funeral will be private and not a state occasion. Only the prince's family and friends will be attending the funeral.

He will be cremated and half his ashes will be scattered into Danish waters and the other half will be buried in the royal private garden at Fredensborg Palace.

The prince was diagnosed with dementia last September but had been ill health for several years.

His Royal Highness Prince Henrik died on Tuesday, 13 February 2018, and it has been decreed that the Court will be in mourning from today until Wednesday, 14 March.

In the period of mourning, Her Majesty The Queen and the Royal Family and the Court will not participate in social or entertainment events. During the Court mourning, dark clothing will be worn at public appearances. Personnel in uniform will wear black armbands on the upper part of the left arm.

Court mourning is the designation for a shorter or longer period of mourning at the Court in connection with a death in the Royal Family. The length of the mourning time is determined by the sovereign.

From today until Tuesday, 20 February between the hours of 09.00-17.00, condolence lists will be placed at the gate of Det Gule Palæ, Amaliegade 18, Copenhagen.

Tuesday, February 13, 2018

The Danish royal house is reporting that Prince Henrik of Denmark, consort of Queen Margrethe II, died peacefully in the presence of his family, at Fredensborg Castle. He died on Monday night, February 13, 2018.

"His Royal Highness Prince Henrik died peacefully in his sleep Tuesday 13 February at 11.18pm, at Fredensborg Palace.

Sunday, February 11, 2018

Princess Maria Galitzine, daughter of Prince Piotr Galitzine and Archduchess Maria Anna of Austria, and her husband, Houston chef Rishi Singh are the parents of a son, Maxim Singh, who was born on February 10, 2018, at Houston.

Saturday, February 10, 2018

This photo of HRH The Duke of Aosta and myself at the Elisabeta Palace in October 2011 for King Michael's 90th birthday was sent to me earlier this week by the photographer. I cannot imagine what we were talking about.

"Buckingham Palace is undertaking significant works to preserve and restore Queen Victoria’s final resting place in the aftermath of a 2009 hearing chaired by Sir Edward Leigh MP. The Royal Mausoleum at Frogmore contains the tomb of Queen Victoria, Britain’s second-longest reigning monarch, and her husband Prince Albert, but has been closed to the public since 2007 after it was declared structurally unsound.

Sir Edward Leigh, the Conservative Member of Parliament for Gainsborough, wrote to Buckingham Palace last month noting that Frogmore Mausoleum is “the resting place of one of Britain’s greatest and longest-reigning monarchs” and a “building of great historical significance.”

“I can’t help but think it would be good for historical awareness for the building to be in good condition and open to the public,” the MP of more than three decades’ service in the Commons continued.

The case of the Royal Mausoleum was singled out during a 2009 hearing of the Public Accounts Commission while the Gainsborough MP served as Chairman of the parliamentary spending watchdog.

Sir Michael Stevens, the Keeper of the Privy Purse, noted in his reply that, since the 2009 hearing, “we have embarked on an extensive programme of environmental monitoring.”

“The results of this monitoring has led to certain temporary works being undertaken which have facilitated the drying out of the mausoleum,” Sir Michael said, “which means we are now in a position to begin a major phase of repair later this year.”

Sir Edward Leigh said that he was pleased to hear of the full programme of works planned for the mausoleum.

“I am delighted that Buckingham Palace are ensuring the necessary work is being done to restore this beautiful mausoleum to a state befitting the Queen-Empress who gave her name to the era of Britain’s greatest age of social, cultural, and economic advancement.”

“When we think of Napoleon in Les Invalides and Lenin in his tomb in Red Square, it is humbling and somehow typically British to think that one of our country’s greatest monarchs is buried in an almost forgotten resting place.”

“I hope one day it will be better known,” Sir Edward commented, “and I am glad to see further substantial restoration will commence shortly.” "

Wednesday, February 7, 2018

Queen Victoria Eugenia arrived in Spain today for the first time since April 1931, when the Spanish monarchy ended after Republicans won the election, the New York Times reported today.

The 80-year-old queen, "a regally erect figure in a full-length mink coat with a match turban, arrived at Barajas airport to the "cheers of about 15,000 devoted monarchists."

She is in Madrid to "act as a godmother" at the baptism of her great-grandson, Infante Felipe. The baptism ceremony will take place tomorrow.

Once "considered the most beautiful queen in Europe," Victoria Eugenia, known as Ena, is the widow of King Alfonso XIII, who died in 1941.

Alfonso left Spain aboard a British warship on August 14, 1931, when Spain was declared a republic. The Queen left the following day with her cousin, Princess Beatrice, the wife of the king's cousin, Infante Alfonso of Orléans-Borbon.

The Queen's third son, Don Juan, the Count of Barcelona, the 54-year-old "exiled pretender to the throne" is also in Spain for his grandson's baptism.

The Count of Barcelona's son Prince Juan Carlos, the father of the infant prince, lives in Spain, with his wife, Princess Sofia, the elder daughter of the late King Paul of Greece.

Although Spain is legally a kingdom since the end of the Spanish civil war, the country has been run by Francisco Franco. The "great question" in Spain is whether or or not Franco will name Prince Juan Carlos as his successor.

General Franco and his wife will attend the baptism at Zarzuela Palace. They also were present for the baptisms of Juan Carlos' two daughters, Infanta Elena and Infanta Cristina.

Queen Ena, a granddaughter of Queen Victoria, is staying at the Lira Palace, the home of the Duke of Alba, while her son is at the Zarzuela Palace with his son and his family. She has lived in Lausanne, Switzerland, for many years.

She arrived in Madrid from Nice, France, having stayed for a month in Monaco with Prince Rainier and Princess Grace.

The queen was born Princess Victoria Eugenie Julia Ena of Battenberg, the daughter of Princess Beatrice and Prince Henry of Battenberg. She was born on October 24, 1887 at Balmoral Castle.

The marriage between Princess Ena and King Alfonso XIII took place at Madrid on May 31, 1906.

Now available for purchase: a well-researched, footnoted article on the life of Grand Duke Michael Mikahilovich of Russia, whose marriage to Countess Sophie von Merenberg was unequal, but a love match. I wrote this piece some years ago for Royalty Digest, and now again available. The price is $5.00 (and will be sent to you as a PDF). Just click on the Buy Now link for purchase. Thanks.

The Gleichens: the Unknown Royal Cousins

My article, The Gleichens: the Unknown Royal Cousins, is now available through Kindle on Amazon, in all the Amazons' Kindle stores. This link is for US Amazon. The price is $9.99. Just visit your Amazon and go to the Kindle store, search for my article. The article runs more than 50 pages! And who were the Gleichens: Prince Victor of Hohenlohe-Langenburg (nephew of Queen Victoria) and his family. His marriage to Lady Laura Seymour was considered unequal, and his wife and children were created Countesses and Count Gleichen. A German title but very English people .... Feodora, Edward, Valda and Helena .. all talented and interesting people. True junior royals.

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All materials contained on this site are protected by United States copyright law and may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, displayed or published without the prior approval of Marlene A. Koenig. You can, however, provide a link to the blog or to a post on the blog. Please credit Marlene A Koenig and Royal Musings. Thanks

Sources

The sources consulted for this blog include the New York Times, the Chicago Daily Tribune, the Los Angeles Times, the Associated Press, the Washington Post, and The Times. I also consult books and other materials in my personal library. All the photos come from my personal collection, unless other noted.